James leads Cavaliers to 92-84 win

He showed no signs of an ankle injury against the
Timberwolves.

CLEVELAND (AP) — LeBron James had no trouble with his aching ankle Friday night.

Listed as a game-time decision after spraining his right ankle Wednesday night, James had 30 points and 13 assists to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 92-84 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The NBA’s leading scorer was hurt in Wednesday’s loss in Boston. James showed no effects from the injury against the Timberwolves. He had six dunks, keyed several fast breaks and fell two rebounds short of his seventh triple-double of the season.

“LeBron was terrific,” Cavaliers coach Mike Brown said.

Cleveland led for most of the second half, but Minnesota cut the lead to 79-75 with 4:37 left in the game. The Cavaliers regrouped after a timeout, scoring the next 11 points. Ben Wallace scored two baskets in the lane off passes from James, and Delonte West stole the ball at midcourt and scored on a dunk to spark the run. James finished it off with a dunk.

“He makes things happen, especially in transition,” said Timberwolves swingman Corey Brewer, who spent time trying to defend James. “He’s a tough guy to stop, probably the best in the league.”

James brought the crowd to its feet with a dunk off an alley-oop pass from guard Damon Jones on a fast break late in the second quarter.

“He had a one-on-three,” said James, as he soaked both feet in a large tub of ice water. “He threw it up there and he let me go get it.”

There may be even more bad news for the Cavaliers’ upcoming opponents. The four players acquired in the Feb. 21 three-team, 11-player trade are meshing with their new teammates.

“Delonte is a push guard,” James said. “I’m starting to realize I can just run the floor and get down the lane quicker. That’s what I’m good at.”

The Cavaliers’ defense tightened up late in the game. Minnesota missed its next five shots and had two turnovers after cutting the lead to four.

The Timberwolves have lost nine of 11 and are 2-25 on the road.

Devin Brown scored 13 points for the Cavaliers. Jones and Zydrunas Ilgauskas added 11 and 10, respectively.

Al Jefferson led Minnesota with 22 points and 10 rebounds. Brewer added 15 points while Ryan Gomes scored 13.